Business Skills Lead to Job

Case Study Helps One Grad Get Foot in the Entertainment Door

WHEN MARK OKUMORI’S FAMILY was cheering for him during
commencement, they were really cheering for two achievements. The first
in his family to earn a college degree, he completed his MBA, and
despite the current economic situation, he already is working in his
chosen career field — entertainment.

Last summer, Okumori was a member of a case consulting team that worked with Fox Sports.
The team spent approximately three weeks conducting research, working
on various aspects of the project in two-person subgroups, including
best practices and the technological aspects, before planning and
organizing what became their final proposal to Fox. The entertainment
company is currently implementing some of their recommendations.

Earlier this spring, when Okumori began his job search, he turned to
Fox executives he had worked with during the case study. That led to an
interview and internship in April.

“I currently work 32 hours a week on the Fox lot in Century City,” said
Okumori, who hails from Malaysia. He received his permanent residency
and work authorization just one week prior to the start of the
internship.

“My internship at Fox 2000 is geared more toward the creative side of
feature films, as opposed to the business side. I have the opportunity
to read scripts and write ‘coverage,’ which is basically a report on
and my opinions on aspects of the script,” Okumori said. “I get to view
production dailies (daily video footage from films in production),
production notes and other film-related documents.

“I feel that this experience is critical as I would need a good balance
of creative and business experiences in the film industry to achieve my
goals of becoming a studio executive in the production side of feature
films.”

His internship continues through June 16 but he’s hopeful for fresh
opportunities. He recently met with a recruiter from Warner Bros. about
a financial analyst position.

“The Fox Sports project and my Fox 2000 internship played a major role
in the recruiter agreeing to see me to begin with, so I really have to
credit the Fox Sports project for this opportunity,” said Okumori. “The
Fox Sports project was a great opportunity. At the same time it was
challenging and forced us to think outside the box and steer away from
delivering an ‘academic’ project and present our deliverables in a more
executive manner.

“Most of the knowledge that I demonstrated in my interview with the
finance manager was learnt directly from the Entertainment and Tourism
Management Program that I completed at the undergraduate level, while
my M.B.A. might have given my profile a little extra gloss,” he noted.

“The entertainment industry is all about getting your foot in the door
and knowing people. The Fox Sports project provided the opportunity to
do just that. I can’t say thank you enough to professors Fraser and Kim
Tarantino (both lecturers in management) for giving me my education in
the field and for helping me get my foot in the door. If I achieve any
success at all in this industry they can take a good deal of the
credit.”

Pullquote

The entertainment industry is all about getting your foot in the door
and knowing people. The Fox Sports project provided the opportunity to
do just that.

Mark Okumori

Sunshine and Business Acumen

Entrepreneurship Program SkillsLead to New Job, New Product

By PAMELA McLAREN

EVERY SUNNY DAY is like a lucky four-leaf clover for
Ashlyn Nath of Anaheim. The 2011 business administration graduate took
her classroom experience and wrangled it into a job at OP Products
Inc., a specialty manufacturer located in Riverside.

As part of the many of the business administration concentrations,
students have the opportunity to provide consulting services to area
businesses. It was while taking part in this program that Nath and a
team of her fellow students worked for OP Products. Following that
project, Nath said she was offered a job that entailed launching a new
line of sunscreen towelettes that are available for retail, private
label and fundraising opportunities.

The product is sold at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Bookstore, at Titan
baseball games and at last month’s commencement, in which she took
part. She says that the main focus of the product line is for schools
to use it as a fundraising item and in that spirit, “our first shipment
was over 400 towelettes that we sent to the Alabama tornado victims.
Donations we raised made it possible and we paid for the shipping.

“It came to our attention that many people (victims and relief workers)
were unsheltered and out in the sun all day,” Nath said. “Sunscreen may
not be the most likely ‘survival essential’ but this is the response we
got from our contacts in Alabama:‘...She has begun to get the packages
people are sending and is taking them to the relief centers as they
come in. She said everyone grabbed the sunscreen packets almost as soon
as the box was opened.

“We are so glad we were able to help, if even on a small scale.

“The entrepreneurship program at CSUF is all about real-world
application,” said Nath. “I was able to use what I learned from my
classes and projects, apply it to Kelley’s Kelley Stark, president of OP Productions idea, and come up with a product line that is allowing us to break into a saturated market.

“The experience I gained has been invaluable,” she added. “My education
has not only landed me a once-in-a-lifetime job that I look forward to
every day, but it provided me with the tools I need to work
autonomously and productively.”